Pakistan's nuclear assets are secure and there is no danger to their safety currently or in the near future, foreign policy experts said at a US Congressional hearing.
Testifying before the House sub-committee on Middle East and South Asia, a panel of experts described Pakistan as a crucial ally in fighting of terrorism and stressed the need for sustained US economic and security assistance for the country.
"It is my judgement that the Pakistani nuclear arsenal today is safe against all external or internal threats that can be imagined in peacetime," said Ashley J. Tellis, a senior South Asian expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was speaking after Sub-committee Chairman Gary Ackerman and other members sought opinion of witnesses on the subject in the context of current political transition period.
Pakistan, under President Pervez Musharraf, has evolved a strict security system for its strategic assets, a fact Tellis referred to when he observed: "The security of Pakistani N-assets has improved dramatically as a result of the protective measures put in place since the late 1990s."
Lisa Curtis, a former State Department adviser and a South Asian expert at the Heritage Foundation, shared Tellis' conclusions, saying: "There is no immediate threat to the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons during the current political transition."
She warned against media hype on the issue. "Recent media hype surrounding the issue of the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, including statements about the possibility of the US having to seize Pakistani nuclear assets, is damaging to the bilateral relationship."
Christine Fair, a noted expert on South Asia, said the Pakistan army is a professional organisation and takes the protection of nuclear assets very seriously as it assigns a very high priority to it. On US assistance for Pakistan, the witnesses advocated strongly against any Congressional moves to curtail aid for the South Asian ally.
"The US should refrain from cutting assistance to Pakistan because it sends a wrong signal at a time when we need to demonstrate that the fight against terrorism is a joint endeavour that benefits Pakistan as much as it does the US and the global community," said Christine Fair.
The experts called for continued security co-operation between the two allies. "Recent calls to cut military assistance, on the other hand, are unhelpful. The US already cut F-16 sales to Pakistan once in the past, and doing so again will only confirm for many Pakistanis that the US is indeed a fickle partner," Curtis remarked.
Echoing her views, Tellis also stressed that Congress should not try to interrupt the transfer of high-profile systems, already committed to Pakistan. Christine Fair also reminded the hearing of the effects of Pressler Amendment and argued against any suggestions towards cutting or conditioning US assistance.
She underlined the importance of continued US co-operation in strengthening Pakistan Army's ability in the fight against terror. Fair also emphasised that the US must dramatically expand assistance to reform Pak civilian institutions through training, capacity-building, and human development.
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